CD4 T cell responses to Chlamydia infection

 描述（由申请人提供）衣原体感染是世界范围内致盲的原因，也是美国性传播疾病的主要原因。如果一个有效的疫苗是成为现实，迫切需要更多的了解粘膜表面的保护性免疫衣原体。我们的应用程序将检查女性生殖道粘膜感染过程中保护性CD4 T细胞的基本方面。我们的实验方法是独特的，因为它利用自然感染途径，使用CD4 T细胞参与细菌清除的既定模型，并允许使用我们实验室最近开发的试剂直接观察内源性衣原体特异性CD4 T细胞。我们的申请特别提出，（i）检查CD4 T细胞异质性和这些异质性反应对保护和病理学的贡献，（ii）检查抗肿瘤治疗是否对生殖道粘膜中保护性TRM细胞的发育产生不利影响，（iii）确定鞭毛蛋白的使用是否可以增强由单一抗原PmpG1引起的适度保护性免疫。了解这些问题中的每一个将增加我们对衣原体特异性CD4 T细胞生物学的了解，并可能对新衣原体疫苗的产生至关重要。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant) Chlamydia infections are a cause of blindness worldwide and a major cause of sexually transmitted disease in the US. Greater understanding of protective immunity to Chlamydia at mucosal surfaces is urgently required if an effective vaccine is to become a reality. Our application will examine fundemental aspects of protective CD4 T cells during infection of the female reproductive tract mucosa. Our experimental approach is unique in that it utilizes a natural route of infection, uses an established model where CD4 T cells participate in bacterial clearance, and allows for direct visualization of endogenous Chlamydia-specific CD4 T cells using reagents that were recently developed in our laboratory. Our application specifically proposes to, (i) examine CD4 T cell heterogeneity and the contribution of these heterogeneous responses to protection and pathology, (ii) examine whether antibiotic-treatment adversely affects the development of protective TRM cells in the reproductive tract mucosa, (iii) determine whether the use of flagellin can enhance moderate protective immunity elicited by the single antigen PmpG1. Understanding each of these issues will increase our knowledge of Chlamydia-specific CD4 T cell biology and may be vitally important for the generation of a new Chlamydia vaccine.